That huge iceberg should freak you out. Here's why
Updated 0127 GMT (0927 HKT) July 16, 2017
This week, a trillion-ton hunk of ice broke off Antarctica.
You probably know that. It was all over the Internet.
Among the details that have been repeated ad nauseam: The iceberg is nearly the size of Delaware, which prompted some fun musing on Twitter about where exactly Delaware is and how anyone is supposed to approximate the square footage of that US state. The ice, which has been named A68, represents more than 12% of the Larsen C ice shelf, a sliver on the Antarctic Peninsula. And most important: None of this has anything to do with man-made climate change.
The problem: That last detail -- the climate one -- is misleading at best.
At worst, it's wrong.
Some scientists think this has a lot to do with global warming.
Trials of Donald Jr turn Russia scandal into another Trump family affair
Though the president is fiercely loyal to his children, some observers wonder if deepening and dangerous controversy might test such bonds to breaking pointIt was an unseasonably cool day in New York. At 1.50pm on 9 June, Hillary Clinton tweeted that Barack Obama was backing her for US president. Half an hour later, Donald Trump tweeted: “Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary.” At 2.27pm, Clinton replied: “Delete your account”. It was the most retweeted post of her campaign.
Just before 4pm, several figures passed through the shiny marble atrium of Trump Tower and took the elevator up to the office of Donald Trump Jr on the 25th floor, one below that of his father. Among them was Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer, and Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian American lobbyist and former Soviet military officer.
What passed between them remains a matter of uncertain recollections and international intrigue. The meeting was kept secret for more than a year. When news of it first emerged last Saturday, the world was provided with the first public evidence that Trump campaign officials met with Russians in an attempt to swing the election – the political crime of the century. A steady drip of damning details followed.
ExodusThe Uncertain Fate of Iraq's Largest Christian City
Before Islamic State invaded, Qaraqosh was home to Iraq's largest Christian community. Now liberated after three years of occupation, little remains and former residents are considering whether its worth rebuilding in a country with an unclear future.
By Katrin Kuntz
Ayouka had a pure heart and he loved his country, the priest says as he walks across a ravaged cemetery in northern Iraq, preparing to recover the dead man's body. The man was strangled by Islamic State (IS) fighters simply because he was a Christian, like the cleric.
The priest, whose name is Roni, wears his black cassock tightly over his shoulders, his eyes are lowered and he silently climbs over what's left of smashed crosses. Now and then, the thud of mortar shells can be heard from nearby Mosul, where Islamic State is still holding on.
Our route leads past graves whose inscriptions and crosses were destroyed by IS and Father Roni steps over broken vases and a destroyed Madonna statue. The dead man is lying on the left side of the cemetery, at its outer edge. The jihadists threw him into a two-meter deep burial chamber as if he were just a piece of trash.
North Korea accelerates nuclear fuel processing, satellite images suggest
Satellite images taken between September and June have shown increased thermal activity at North Korea's main nuclear plant, a Washington-base think tank says. It's a worrying new development for the US and its allies.
Thermal images of North Korea's main nuclear plant suggest that Pyongyang has reprocessed more weapons-grade plutonium than previously thought.
The information, which comes from 38 North, a Washington-based think tank connected to Johns Hopkins University, likely means that the North can expand its nuclear weapons stockpile more rapidly than has been estimated up to now.
"The Radiochemical Laboratory operated intermittently and there have apparently been at least two unreported reprocessing campaigns to produce an undetermined amount of plutonium that can further increase North Korea's nuclear weapons stockpile," it said.THANKS TO STATE DEPARTMENT CABLES, A TORTURE VICTIM WON A RARE $10 MILLION SETTLEMENT
AN AMERICAN CITIZEN won a rare $10 million torture settlement against three top members of the ruling family in the United Arab Emirates, after State Department cables proved the man had indeed been detained as he had claimed.
The confidential and previously unreported settlement was paid out in May 2013, according to documents extracted from the hotmail account of UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba. The documents were provided to The Intercept either by a hacker or someone who had access to his account.
Settlements for torture victims are extraordinarily rare, making the payout to Los Angeles resident Khaled Hassen that much more surprising.
Netanyahu in Paris to commemorate Vel d'Hiv deportation of Jews
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Paris to commemorate the victims of a mass arrest of Jews in Nazi-occupied France in 1942.
More than 13,000 Jews were rounded up and detained at a cycling stadium, the Velodrome d'Hiver, before being deported to Nazi death camps.
Mr Netanyahu will also hold direct talks for the first time with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The visit has been criticised by some groups as politicising a tragedy.
The Union of French Jews for Peace (UJFP) described the decision to invite Mr Netanyahu as "shocking" and "unacceptable".
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